Closure
by Chloestruck
Summary: This takes place right after Max's final choice to save Chloe, as they drive away from town. This is the end I pictured, according to how I experienced the story. My first piece ever written or shared, I hope you'll enjoy it. Good reading.


Gazing thru the side window of Chloe's truck, Max was torn between relief and guilt. So many questions, so many terrible consequences to her decision. She felt horribly guilty as deep inside, she knew she didn't not even consider the alternative...losing Chloe was never an option. Yet consequences must have been dramatic for so many people, so many families. And yet, she did not hesitate, not one moment. She felt so selfish.

Chloe's destiny couldn't be such an absurd, undeserved, pathetic death in a college toilet, killed by that douchebag.

 _He would have killed both her and Rachel!_ she just realized.

And then what, being left alone with those memories? If this power was to make any sense, it could only mean that Max was to save her at all cost, not lose her. Losing her...no fucking way. She has tasted the joy of being with her again, she's been thru the most insane journey, and her guts, her heart, all of her was screaming as one single voice: _she is my number one priority!_ Yet... she sincerely hoped people had a chance to find safety.

She learned the inevitability of loss the hard way, trying to save William lead her to unbearable choices. Max would have to live with these forever but with Chloe around she felt like she could face anything. Going on without her And no more fucking around with time, this insane nightmare was a clear sign it had been played with more than enough.

Max turned towards Chloe who was driving them along the coastal road, heading towards the closest hospital hoping to find where Joyce had been taken. Her friend was staring at the road in silence. Survivors they met in Arcadia could swear they saw Chloe's mother being carried away in an ambulance. Alive. What was Chloe thinking about? Joyce probably. Max on her side could hardly keep control of her thoughts:

 _Oh god I hope Joyce's is alive...will Chloe blame me for making that choice? How can I ever hope for an even relationship with her now? What are we anyway...I am so confused, I saved her and yet I still am terrified of losing her, as if she is to vanish any moment. I'm going batshit crazy right now!_

This was the very moment Chloe chose to put a hand on her shoulder. Without a word, gently, she simply took her eyes off the road long enough to share a smile. In that smile... Max could feel all her love, and that was it. No more freaking out. That warm feeling, the serenity, the loneliness gone, and a raging desire for happiness. That one touch, that one smile reminded her why she never had the choice in the first place.

 _But what if we drift apart someday? Will Chloe feel obliged to stay with me?_

"-I'm sure mum will be ok, she's hardcore". Chloe interrupted her train of thought. She could read her mind, sense how guilty she felt.

"-Max seriously, I know you're probably feeling like shit right now, i'm sure you believe you caused all of this, but nobody can ever judge you. Nobody could have handled what you've had to do and anyone who dares will have to deal with me. I promise.

\- Chloe, the thing is...you're the only one that will ever know, and the only one whose judgment I fear...I chose you over Joyce ! Over Warren, and so many more I don't even know. Who am I to decide that they are worth less than you... just saying that makes me feel horrible ! You were so brave, you offered them a chance, you were willing to… and I was so selfish ! It keeps looping in my head, what I should have done, what I did, and it never ads up." Max was sobbing. "I just couldn't...go on without you."

This is when Max noticed Chloe had stopped the car. Her blue haired friend then grabbed both her hands, staring at her...at that moment Max felt overwhelmed by Chloe's superior moral stance, at least that's how she perceived the situation. She would not blame her if she was mad at her from taking her choice away, after risking Joyce's life.

"-Max...you're putting me in a difficult situation"

 _Here we go, she does blame me._

"I promised you I'd beat the shit out of anyone judging you, so If you start guilt trip on me, I'm kinda facing a dilemma." She said smirkingly.

 _Is she...joking? Yes she was !_

Too much for Max to handle. As Chloe could tell her friend was about to decompose in tears, she opened her arms to offer her the comfort she needed.

Max would probably wonder about her decision for the rest of her life, but at that very moment, and for the first time since the events at the lighthouse, she felt safe. Of course there was that one topic that needed to be addressed, that devouring question. It felt immensely inappropriate and selfish to even bring it up at that moment, yet it was at the center of Max's decision: what were they? Not that she needed to have their relation fit in a box. She was her best friend, nothing new here, and just this, right now, was all she needed. But there was this unstoppable force inside her, making her crave a simple touch of Chloe's hand. And that, well that was somewhat new. Max was dying to know how Chloe felt about her, and yet remained too afraid that she misread their relationship. Hard to keep it together these day. No, this could definitely wait, time to get back to priorities.

"Chloe we must go find Joyce, I'm so sorry I'm wasting so much time." They got back on the road to drive the last mile separating them from the hospital.

When they reached it, the total lack of damage felt unreal. It was a reminder of a life outside Arcadia Bay, where things remained business as usual. Crash landing back to normality.

Of course there was an usual amount of ambulances all over. Chloe started panicking as she pictured her mother in one of them, and rushed out of her truck into the hospital. Max's promptly reacted and followed her, slaloming across a crowd of paramedics on the parking lot.

Chloe grabbed the first nurse she could find by the arm:

"Have you seen my mother, Joyce, Joyce Price?!

\- I'm sorry young lady we're quite busy here, ask the front desk"

Chloe was running around like a maniac.

"- Joyce, Joyce Price! I'm looking for Joyce Price" Chloe shouted while reaching admissions.

\- Allright allright allright young lady, calm down ! Not exactly our usual day here, are you a family member?

\- I'm her daughter, Chloe, is she here?"

Although Chloe didn't realize it at first, Max had grabbed her hand, terrified at the idea of facing the consequences of her choice.

\- Joyce...Price. Yes, we checked her in. But we have a bit of a crisis situation here, you'll have to wait a bit...this being said... from her initial routing...yes, she had surgery but nothing critical. Your mother should be fine but you can't see her now. Get to the waiting room we'll come pick you up when she wakes up. It might take a while though."

A ray of light to dissipate a cloud of dark thoughts. Losing her mum as well as her dad, she couldn't even conceive it.

 _So that's how Max felt at the lighthouse? That's how she feels about me..._

Her mother was alive, not everything had to be on Max.

 _Oh Max ! You must be so relieved mum is alive! I so didn't want you to carry that burden, it would have been so unfair !_

Joy was overwhelming, Chloe felt like shouting it out. She turned to her friend, to share that moment:

"- FUUUCK YEAAAH MAAAAX!"

Contrasting with her friends explosive demonstration of happiness, Max was simply just looking up into Chloe eyes, silently letting go of a few tears and looking so, so sorry.

" Wow Max no need to cry anymore! Mum's alive ! Holy shit I need a cigarette" she said while pulling Max outside, by the same hand she was still not letting go off. She tried to light up a cigarette once on the parking lot.

Max couldn't stop processing her decision. " _If I had let Chloe die...Joyce would have lost her as well after losing...how come I didn't even think about that!"_ Chloe interrupted her train of thought:

"Kind of hard lighting up a cigarette like that. You sure hold my hands a lot lately."

\- I was just, i mean i though…

\- Not that I mind or that you need an excuse", she said confidently while dragging hard on her poorly lit cigarette.

Chloe was so hard to read! She dared her to kiss out of the blue when in her room, and make it look like a prank. Surely there must be funnier pranks. Also it felt like an eternity ago, and this was such a different situation. What was she trying to tell now? Behind a wall of fake confidence and sarcasms, Chloe was often avoiding expressing her true feelings. This time however, she seemed to be making a statement: "I acknoledge this is where we are right now and I'm cool with it".

 _Then i guess I don't need an excuse for that._ Max thought

She stepped towards Chloe and hugged her, squirming to find a comfortable position in her arms, her head against her chest, a nice benefit of being the shorter one. For the first time in much too long, this hug didn't feel like a farewell. Chloe dropped her cigarette on the floor...

What Max couldn't see was Chloe's reaction. She couldn't see how she closed her eyes and smelled her hair, how she was embracing the moment. Chloe had missed Max so much in those past few years, and she had not yet had time to fully process what role Rachel took in her life. While she clearly filled the gap Max left behind in the beginning, Rachel then became a true friend. Later, she was also the one that made Chloe aware that she could have romantic feelings towards another girl. Chloe wasn't done processing that side of her yet. She got attached to Rachel in a way that she never got a chance to express, only to learn after her death there was no reciprocity. She never questioned Rachel's affection, but she took her love for Frank as an other painful form of rejection.

Then Max came back, and it got all so confusing. There was no doubt whatsoever that they were stronger than ever, recent events spoke for themselves. The fact that she did went for the kiss was something Chloe really held on to. But Chloe still couldn't open up due to her fear of once again being left behind. When Max left first it was as her friend, then Rachel disappeared leaving her feeling emptier than ever. If she was to lose Max again, she'd lose her best friend, and this time much more, something she couldn't live without.

 _I love you and I think I want to be your girlfriend, although we have no clue whatsoever how to handle this. Oh and also never leave me again or I'll go fucking nuts._

Yeah sure, that's going to work out just fine. Damnit Max was so much better than her at expressing her feelings, too bad she was so shy about it.

"- Chloe?"

Max took a step back and grabbed both her friends hands while facing her.

\- Max…?

\- I'm still holding your hands.

\- Yeah I noticed that…

\- Well, you should know I'll also be holding your hand when we head back into that hospital. And I plan to keep doing that after." She took a pause. It was time to go all in: "Chloe, I don't know what's ahead of us but I won't rewind time time ever again. What I learned from this is that we loose the ones we love, someday, no matter what. I don't know when I will lose you, hopefully in a very very long time. Until then, I can promise you one thing: I will not hold back loving you ever again, and I'll never abandon you."

 _Oh my god Max…_

Chloe's habit of sarcasm and maintaining emotional distance was gone as her eyes were getting wet. Max kept going:

"I love you Chloe...I love you and just telling you feels seriously fucking great. And not telling you did hurt like hell. How about I just kiss you and we'll take it from there? If that's ok with you?"

\- Holly shit…no Max Caulfield, I'm gonna kiss you"

No more' talking, enough being afraid, Chloe's hands grabbed Max's head, her fingers gently running thru her hair, then she pulled her towards her face. Max stood on her toes to make herself taller, until she could at last reach her friend's lips…

"Mam? How are you feeling? The nurse asked Joyce as she was slowly regaining consciousness.

\- I...oooh my back ! ouch

\- Don't try to move! You'll be sour for a while but you'll be fine.

\- My daughter…" Joyce asked while the nurse pulled the curtain to let some light in.

\- Your daughter? Oh yes, Chloe isn't it? She made quite a scene looking for you, hard to miss her with her looks." She said with a kind way. "She was here with her friend."

\- Max! Ooh so happy to hear that."

The nurse opened the window to get some fresh air.

"- Actually, said the nurse, I think that's them outside in the parking lot. Can't really miss the blue hair can you.

\- Are they OK? Joyce asked.

\- Hum, how can I put it" The nurse hesitated, and couldn't refrain from smiling: "I really wouldn't worry, they seem to be doing great right now."


End file.
